Inspired by the groundbreaking music of Chrome, Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Portion Control, The Legendary Pink Dots, and others, Skinny Puppy experimented with electronic recording techniques and methods. the band composed multi-layered music generally using keyboards, synthesizers, found sounds, drum machines, live percussion, tape splices, samplers, and conventional rock music instruments. Whereas many contemporary remixes and re-edits of songs were created in order to make a song more suitable for dancing or different radio formats, Skinny Puppy approached remixing and re-editing as an artistic process of reinterpreting compositions, often using remixes to push their sound into styles of ambient, dub and techno. Skinny Puppy's often informal, improvisational approach to musical composition is indicated by use of the term brap, coined by them and defined as a verb meaning "to get together, hook up electronic instruments, get high, and record".
Skinny Puppy's first two proper releases, Bites and Remission, fall somewhere between the found-sound chaos of early Cabaret Voltaire and the abrasive, futuristic synthpop of the Units or Crash Course in Science. While the intense synth programming, abstract rhythms, and surreal samples--all Puppy trademarks--are present here, the albums owe as much to new wave as to industrial.
A subsequent EP, Chainsaw, featured a remix of Bites's "Assimilate" that earned the band some attention from club DJs. 1986's Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse earned Skinny Puppy greater attention, as "Dig It" and "Stairs and Flowers" became alternative club and college radio hits; the video for the former was played occasionally on MTV. The album is arguably less club-friendly than its predecessors, as the band continues to refine a claustrophobic, almost surreal sound that buries rhythm and melody. The follow-up, Cleanse, Fold, and Manipulate treads similar territory.
VIVIsectVI was a breakthrough for the band, with "Testure" becoming their biggest club hit to date, and the album itself was received warmly by college radio. The title of the album was a pun intended to associate vivisection with Satanism (ie. the "666 sect"). The album shows SP integrating more political and social themes: "Testure" is an animal rights song; "VX Gas Attack" concerns the use of chemical weapons; "State Aid" promotes sexual abstinence to stop the spread of AIDS/HIV.
Ogre had become very interested in Ministry and Al Jougensen's side projects, and he persuaded the rest of the band to allow Jourgensen to produce Rabies. While "Worlock" (a track Jourgensen didn't produce) remains an industrial club classic, the album was received coolly, as many thought Jourgensen's heavy metal guitar-based signatures did not compliment SP's more complex, intricate sonic sculptures. The band briefly disbanded afterward.
They reformed and returned to their electronic roots with Too Dark Park, a hallucinogenic album that owes as much to psychedelia as industrial music. Two years later, "Last Rights" covered similar territory, culminating in the epic sound sculpture "Download." Although their sound had moved away from industrial dance, these albums expanded the band's audience, and provided the template for many industrial bands of the 1990s.
Following "Last Rights", the band, poised for a major breakthrough in the wake of Nine Inch Nails' commercial success, left their longtime label Nettwerk for American Recordings. Their highly anticipated followup was unfortunately marred by personal tragedy - the death of Dwayne Goettel - and the band's inability to agree on a direction for the record. Numerous producers, including Martyn Atkins (PigFace/Invisible Records founder) and Roli Mosimann (Swans), came and went without success; finally the band regrouped with longtime collaborator Dave "Rave" Ogilvie to finish "The Process". The band expanded their range, working with gothic pop and heavy metal, alongside their familiar electronic textures. While seemingly rushed to completion following Goettel's death (it sounds half-finished in parts), it is an interesting change for the group. Unfortunately American Recordings, tired of waiting for the record, did little to promote it. Skinny Puppy broke up afterward.
With interests in filmmaking, they made a number of music videos, each attempting to further the theme and concept of the composition at hand. Most of these videos received little air play by major music video networks such as MTV (USA) and MuchMusic (Canada) and some were outright banned. For example the video for "Worlock" was universally banned because it is a "non stop gore fest" of clips from various horror movies. Because none of these clips were authorized for usage in the video it has never been commercially available.
Their concerts have been marked by their bizarre and bloody conceptual performance art, which for every concert was planned with the intention of challenging the notions of all who observed. Their music had some acceptance in dance clubs because of its danceable beats, but had little play on commercial radio. Skinny Puppy had little commercial success outside of Canada, but their influence on industrial music is immense.
The band began with the intention of doing something "raw" and "real." Ogre's vocals, one of Skinny Puppy's most recognizable features, are typically roughly growled snarls of half-sentences and fragmented stream of consciousness. Lyrical themes included animal rights, politics, religion, horror, drug abuse, disease, and environmental degradation; these themes were often lyrically and conceptually intertwined. Other core aspects of the Skinny Puppy sound include the mixture of heavy sampling and experimental noise with softer musical styles sometimes approaching synthpop.
Post-punk politics are a recurring theme utilised by Skinny Puppy. Some say the meaning of their name is that their music and lyrics give a view of the world from the eyes of a starving animal. They have long had an interest in animal rights; this is most obvious in their song Testure, which is about vivisection and other animal testing being scientific fraud. During many of their concerts Ogre would take the role of "scientist" and experiment on a stuffed animal. In 1988 they were arrested for their mocked-up vivisections, and found it ironic to be arrested for a parody of what was happening for real across the street from their concert. During their TGWOTR tour, criticism of the Bush regime was a recurring theme, particularly during their performance of VX Gas Attack, a song about atrocities perpetrated by Saddam Hussein, originally released while he was still considered an ally of the United States.
The last two studio albums are points of contention for old school Puppy fans. During the recording of The Process, the band broke up. Even more tragically, Dwayne Rudolph Goettel died, from an apparent heroin overdose at his parent's home, soon afterwards. Some people say that cEvin, Nivek, and Dwayne didn't connect as well on this album as they had earlier because their respective musical interests were diverging at the time, others claim it was the heroin.
Key and Ogre later reunited as Skinny Puppy for a one-off concert in Germany in 2003. Afterwards, they decided Skinny Puppy should continue as an ongoing project. The newly reconstituted Skinny Puppy released The Greater Wrong of the Right in 2004, their first studio album in 8 years, and have been continuing since, constantly evolving their sound.
There have been a number of Skinny Puppy side projects, both before, and after the breakup in 1995. The Tear Garden is a collaboration between cEvin and Edward Ka-Spel (and later most band members) of The Legendary Pink Dots. Other noteable side projects include Download, Hilt, Plateau, Cyberaktif (a collaboration between Key & Goettel and Bill Leeb, a.k.a. Wilhelm Schroeder), Rx (one-off collaboration between Ogre and Martin Atkins), ADuck (Goettel's side project), A CHUD Convention (one-off collaboration with a;GRUHM...), Ogre's contributions to Pigface, Ogre and Mark Walk's band ohGr and solo releases from cEvin Key.
Tinomen
Skinny Puppy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
out war dance what a ride inner thought of non violent rebellion outside
dare to die stand and fight show faith return all the weapons
government says use them right fixed action set in motion doubting amnesia
potion what to hide red carpet ride guessing right the jokes on
dark corner the square you bath once a week distorted the viewpoint
seldom seen wayback in 68 ohio kent state was nothing so great have of
have not forcing the point shot in the back take it back down trod soldier
known one by one they'll be coming down altogether sister machine gun
automatic high what a ride what a trip tripped over the candlestick tanks
arrive fire wall got to keep the camera alive tell the world
what's going on here warning shots are fired at the stomach chest wound
coed falls amped out amped out changing guns for brooms the guards change
to clean up crews way back in 68 every thing was so great no way wrong
date keep up the trade balanced charade close circuit truth used to
remove keep the camera alive
The lyrics to Skinny Puppy's "Tinomen" describe a violent conflict between the government's army and a group of rebels. The opening line, "every truncheon hit misguided," sets the tone for the song's commentary on police brutality and the violence perpetuated by those who hold positions of power. The "peoples army divided" refers to the fact that the rebels are not united, but instead are a collection of individuals fighting for a common cause. Despite this, they stand together in an "amped out war dance," a physical representation of their inner thoughts of rebellion.
The lyrics suggest that the rebels are not interested in violence, but are willing to "dare to die stand and fight" for their beliefs. They seek to return their weapons to the government, but doubt that they will be used in a morally correct way. The fourth verse references the Kent State shootings in 1970, which were carried out by the National Guard against non-violent student protesters. The final verse calls for the camera to be kept alive to capture the truth of the conflict, and implies that the government is trying to suppress or manipulate the media to maintain control of the situation.
Overall, "Tinomen" is a commentary on the deadly consequences of government oppression and the need for non-violent rebellion. The lyrics urge listeners to question authority, challenge established power structures, and stay vigilant against attempts to manipulate the truth.
Line by Line Meaning
every truncheon hit misguided the peoples army divided united stance amped
The government is using violence against the people who are protesting against the government. The people are divided, but they also have a united stance. They're excited and amped up for war.
out war dance what a ride inner thought of non violent rebellion outside
The people are fighting a war, and it's like a dance. They're excited and enjoying the ride. Internally, they believe in non-violent rebellion, but externally they're externalizing that.
dare to die stand and fight show faith return all the weapons
The people are brave enough to die for this cause. They will stand and fight for their beliefs and faith. They are returning all their weapons.
government says use them right fixed action set in motion doubting amnesia potion
The government is telling the people to use their weapons in the right way. The government is setting a fixed action in motion, but the people are doubting it. The government is trying to make the people forget their doubts.
what to hide red carpet ride guessing right the jokes on
The government is trying to hide something. The people who thought they were riding in luxury because of the government are now realizing they were wrong. The joke is on them.
dark corner the square you bath once a week distorted the viewpoint
The people are forced to hide in dark corners and squares. They can only bathe once a week. The government has distorted their viewpoint.
seldom seen wayback in 68 ohio kent state was nothing so great have of have not forcing the point shot in the back take it back down trod soldier away
Back in 68, Ohio's Kent State was nothing so great. The people are now forced to choose sides between the haves and have-nots. The government is forcing them to the point of shooting them in the back. The soldier takes it back down and away.
flower power within kill me kill this way of life and be known
The people have flower power within them, but the government wants to kill that power. They want to kill the way of life that the people are fighting for and be known for that act of violence.
one by one they'll be coming down altogether sister machine gun automatic high
The people who are fighting for their beliefs will come down one by one. They'll all be together. Sister machine gun is automatic, and it's very powerful.
what a ride what a trip tripped over the candlestick tanks arrive fire wall got to keep the camera alive tell the world what's going on here
The experience has been intense and crazy, and they're tripping over the candlestick. The tanks have arrived, and there's a fire wall. They have to keep the camera alive to tell the world about what's happening.
warning shots are fired at the stomach chest wound coed falls amped out amped out changing guns for brooms the guards change to clean up crews
The government is firing warning shots. A coed falls and is injured. The people are excited and pumped up, but it's not helping. Instead of guns, they're now using brooms. The guards are now being changed to clean up crews.
way back in 68 every thing was so great no way wrong date keep up the trade balanced charade close circuit truth used to remove keep the camera alive
Back in 68, everything seemed perfect, and there was no way anything could be wrong. The date and trade are balanced, and it's all a charade. The truth is being removed. They have to keep the camera alive to capture what's really going on.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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